


A History of Taking Off My Shirt

by Chash



Series: Charity Drive 2017 [6]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 01:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9796130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: Bellamy isn't jealous of Roan. Really, he isn't. He has absolutely no reason to be. It would be stupid.But seriously, is the guy allergic to shirts or what?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Charity fic for [fitastrophe](http://fitastrophe.tumblr.com/)!

The thing is, Bellamy is an attractive guy. He _knows_ he's an attractive guy. Whatever issues he might have with his own self-worth, they're not related to his looks. Okay, so he could be taller, and some people always want to ask what his exact genetic background is, and maybe not everyone is into freckles, but he's never had any problems with getting laid, and sometimes Jasper gets drunk and complains about how his face is too nice and he's screwing things up for the rest of them.

So it makes no sense, that he's jealous of Roan.

In a way, he was prepared, because first, there was Lincoln. But his jealousy of Lincoln wasn't really about how attractive Lincoln was, it was about how Lincoln was dating his sister, and how there was literally nothing wrong with him apart from his age. He's actually a perfect human specimen on all levels, and Bellamy was grumpy about it for a while, until Clarke alternately teased and badgered him into getting over himself.

Which is probably the real problem with Roan. Clarke's the one who introduces him to the group, which makes him at least theoretically Clarke's, and that's just not something Bellamy is prepared to deal with. Not that she and Roan are dating or anything, but--well, Clarke introduced Niylah to the group and then started dating her, and introduced Lexa to the group because she was dating her, so he thinks he's allowed to be worried about that trend. And he doesn't think Roan is _more_ attractive than he is. Not to be shallow or anything, but he has kind of a large nose, and he's like ten years older than Clarke is, and kind of a dick.

Of course, Bellamy's five years older than Clarke is and kind of a dick and it's not like his nose is _perfect_. Plus, he's been friends with Clarke for years, and they've never been more than friends, so it's not like Roan actually deserves any kind of blame for Bellamy's not dating Clarke regardless. No one but Bellamy deserves blame for that. Really, even _Bellamy_ might not, because someone not being interested in him really isn't a blame situation; it's just one of those things. Unrequited love. It's a cliche for a reason.

Still, it's a lost less work to just blame Roan, instead of processing complex emotions. And Roan makes it so _easy_. 

And that's before The Shirt Thing.

The first time The Shirt Thing happens, it's Sunday, and they're having brunch at Lincoln and Octavia's, because Lincoln is still the most perfect human to actually exist, and he likes to cook wholesome meals for his friends and family with hand-churned butter and shit.

"Seriously, this is weird, right?" he hisses to Clarke. It's their third Sunday doing brunch, and he's still waiting for the catch. Something's going to be poisoned sooner or later, right? That's probably going to be it.

"He made _croissants_ ," says Clarke. "Are you sure he's going to marry your sister? Because I could live with someone who made me fresh croissants."

"Please don't fight my sister for her fiance. I'm pretty sure she could take you."

"True. At least she's sharing his skills with the rest of us."

"I can't believe anyone in my family is regularly participating in _brunch_ ," he grumbles, and Clarke pats his shoulder.

"It's still food. It's not actually impractical. You need food to live, Bellamy. It's practical."

"I don't need hand-churned butter to live."

Clarke's smirking, about to respond, and then there's a commotion, and Monty and Jasper are looking guilty, and Roan is taking off his shirt.

Bellamy hadn't really thought about what Roan might look like shirtless before that. Which, in retrospect, was stupid, because obviously that would have added a much needed dimension to his irrational jealousy thing.

"Seriously?" Clarke asks, and Bellamy snaps back to the present. "Are you getting naked at _brunch_?"

"They spilled coffee on me."

"It was a _speck_ ," says Monty.

"I'm not even convinced there was really any coffee on the shirt," Jasper adds.

"He probably just wanted to take it off," says Raven, and Bellamy isn't going to _say_ he agrees with her, but that's definitely it. Because he's fucking _ripped_. Not, again, that Bellamy is lacking in the muscle department. He's in great shape. A lot of people are surprised and impressed when he takes his shirt off, because he does generally work a nerd vibe, and people think he has nice arms by accident, not on purpose. Which is not true at all.

But Roan has actual washboard abs. If there is coffee on his shirt, he can just go down to the river and use his own body to clean it off. Bellamy's not convinced Roan is _stronger_ than he is, but he might have more muscle definition. He has at least an eight pack, and possibly more.

"You're welcome to come assess the damage if you'd like," Roan tells Raven. "I'm worried it can't be salvaged."

"Yeah, god forbid you lose a plain white t-shirt."

"I bet he paid at least thirty bucks for that t-shirt," says Clarke. She's looking amused, but she's looking amused _at Roan_. So that sucks. "That's how rich people are. We get the same clothes, but for more, and feel better than other people."

"Oh, is that how it works?" Raven asks.

"Trade secrets." She goes over to inspect the shirt with Raven and Monty and Jasper, and Bellamy _isn't_ jealous.

But he doesn't see why all of them need to look. It's just one shirt. And, as an isolated incident, it's not a big deal.

The second time, he and Clarke are at the park with his dog, because Clarke isn't allowed to have a pet and therefore spends time with his once or twice a week. Which is basically his favorite part of every week, because he is actively pathetic. It's fine. He's dealing with it.

He'd just be dealing with it a lot better if they didn't run into Roan. 

It seems to be a total accident, nothing Roan _planned_. Even Bellamy, who is a world champion at paranoia, can't actually believe it was on purpose.

He gives them both a smirk, and then an extra smirk for the dog. "Fancy meeting you two here. Family outing?"

"Dog walk," says Bellamy. "You?"

"Going for a jog. But it's warmer than I expected."

"Yeah," says Clarke, dry. "Almost sixty. Totally balmy."

Her sarcasm is apparently lost, because Roan is already pulling off his shirt. It's like a _disease_. "I don't want to get it sweaty."

"Yeah, it looks really nice," Bellamy says.

"You're welcome to hold onto it if you'd like," Roan replies, apparently missing the sarcasm completely. And then he tosses it to Bellamy and starts running.

"You think I can feed it to the dog?" he asks Clarke.

"I'm surprised he didn't sign it first," she says. "Now it's way less of a collector's item."

"Seriously, I don't understand why you're friends with him."

"You don't understand why anyone is friends with anyone," she says. "Friendship is a mystery to you."

"Like it's not to you."

"Roan's fun," she says, which he takes to mean she doesn't have a better argument. "Not, like-- _ha ha_ fun, but--fun."

"Wow, yeah, that cleared up everything."

She nudges him. "I think he brings something unique and fun to the group dynamic."

"Is that what we're calling it?"

"Don't be threatened because you're not the only hot grumpy guy anymore. He does a different kind of hot grump."

"I already wasn't the only one. We have Miller too. That's _three_ hot grumpy guys. That's way more than any group needs."

"Yeah, but you're a nerd, Miller's bitter, and Roan is condescending. Totally distinct vibes."

"And what do you think you bring to the group dynamic, exactly?"

"Angry drunk blonde."

He laughs. "Very important."

"And I'm trying to steal your dog."

"That too."

It wouldn't be that noteworthy, except Roan keeps running past them, and every time he does, he stops to chat, and every time he does, he's _still shirtless_. Which, Bellamy has his shirt, so he couldn't have gotten a new one, but seriously, what the fuck, Roan.

And after that time, it stops being even a little justified. Not that those were _that_ justified, but it seems like _every fucking time_ Bellamy sees Roan, he finds an excuse to take off his shirt.

"You're exaggerating," says Miller. "And who cares? He looks good without a shirt."

"You're not helping."

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to be helping with. You want me to stop Roan taking off his shirt?"

"That would be a good start."

There's a pause, and then he asks, "Is this about Clarke?"

"Not everything is about Clarke."

"But this is."

"This might be," Bellamy grants. 

"You know she's not interested in him, right?"

"Sure."

"God, you're a fucking mess. Just enjoy the shirtless weirdo, okay?"

He gives Miller an overly bright smile. "Definitely."

Two days later, Roan pulls his shirt off because they're discussing tattoos, and he wants to show off his. Which is a butterfly. On his lower back.

"I have some questions," says Clarke.

"You don't have to tell me how attractive you find it. I can tell."

"Did you pick pink?" Raven asks. "Or was that dealer's choice?"

"If I remembered, I would tell you. I assume Echo would have given me pink regardless of my actual request, though, so ultimately it might not matter."

Bellamy isn't drunk enough to _really_ have an excuse for what happens next. He has _kind of_ an excuse, but even he recognizes it's really just his own stupidity.

But he pulls his shirt off anyway.

"I don't have any tattoos," he says, looking down at his own bare chest. "Should I get one? Where should I get one?"

Everyone is staring at him, but not in a _wow, Bellamy, you're so hot_ way. Why can _Roan_ take his shirt off, but when Bellamy does it, it's weird? 

Clarke's the first to smile. "I don't know, maybe one of those hearts on your arm that says _Mom_ , but instead of _Mom_ , it can say _Catullus_."

"I think you should just get _Stay off my lawn_ across your chest," says Miller. 

"If you'd like a butterfly tramp stamp, I'd sure Echo would be more than willing," Roan adds. "Just say the word."

"All really good suggestions," he says. "Thanks team."

As rivalries go, it is absolutely a stupid and incoherent one. But he keeps hoping that if _he_ takes his shirt off every time Roan does, everyone will realize how weird Roan is being. Because he _is_. It is absolutely not normal to be shirtless as much as Roan is, and he's just done it enough that everyone but Bellamy forgot about that. He's conditioned them, and Bellamy's not going to let him get away with it.

"You know he's more ripped than you are, right?" Miller asks. They were helping Octavia and Lincoln with some landscaping, so Bellamy has to admit it was a fairly normal time to remove his shirt. Lincoln did it too. Bellamy has to admit, he maybe shouldn't have joined them, but he _is_ hot. He is. He's just as hot as they are.

"He's got more muscle definition," Bellamy says, dark. "But he's a pasty white guy."

"He's not that pasty, but sure, keep telling yourself that." There's a pause. "I don't know why I keep saying this when you never listen, but you could just ask Clarke out. It's probably easier than trying to claim you developed a cotton allergy."

"It's not about Clarke," he mutters, and Miller--probably correctly--ignores him.

Honestly, it's only like sixty percent about Clarke. If she's interested in Roan, she's not doing anything about it, and he's definitely been part of their friend group for long enough that she could have made a move. Longer than Niylah was around, before she and Clarke hooked up. 

But the shirt thing is weird, and Bellamy's taking a stand. Maybe not a good or coherent or even slightly useful stand, but a stand nonetheless.

In a way, the most surprising thing is how long it takes Clarke to ask him about it. He sort of figured she'd call him out before Miller did. Clarke's usually the most on top of his bullshit. And, well, he was maybe hoping a little that she'd do it, just so that he could explain himself.

Which, okay, he has no idea how to do, but he was going to figure it out.

Clarke's opening is, "You know that Roan's into Raven, right? So you can stop taking your shirt off around him. Unless you're completing for Raven, which I assume you would have done when you guys slept together. Now seems like a weird time for that. I figured you would have noticed sooner."

"I could be going for him," he says, without thinking about it.

"I sort of assumed if you were interested in him, you wouldn't hate him. Just a guess."

"I don't _hate_ him," he mutters. Obviously that's the most important thing. He's not avoiding the point.

Honestly, to avoid the point, he'd have to get what the point _was_ , so he really isn't.

She's _grinning_ , of course. "So, you're into Roan?"

"I didn't say that either."

"Yeah, you're not really saying much in this conversation." Her smile is warm and fond, and he still doesn't know what his line is. 

"It's weird, right?" he settles on. "The shirtless thing. You never take your shirt off at all."

"There's more of a social stigma there."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't let that stop you. If you want to take your shirt off, you should. I support you."

"But not Roan."

"He has a problem. We're enabling him."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"So, I've heard a couple theories on _your_ shirtless thing."

"You guys are theorizing about this?"

"Monty thinks it's an alpha male thing, like--pissing contest, but with abs."

It's not as inaccurate than he'd like. "Okay."

"Your sister and Miller refuse to talk about it, Jasper just cries about how scrawny he is, and Lincoln thinks you're trying to make Roan feel included in the group."

"Seriously?"

"I don't know. It's hard to tell with Lincoln." She worries her lip. "Raven thinks it's about me."

"What about you?"

"She thinks you have this stupid idea in your head that I'm into Roan, or he's into me, or we're--yeah. And you're threatened by his shirt thing. Which is ridiculous."

His mouth is a little dry, and every answer seems dangerous. "Which part?" he finally manages.

"The part where you're threatened. And the part where I'm into him. And the part where you decided the best way to deal with the situation was to start taking off your shirt in retaliation. Which is, like--the opposite of peacocking."

She's right about everything, but he's stuck on-- "You're not into Roan?" 

"Not even a little."

"And he's into Raven."

"I'm pretty sure."

"And that's why he's always taking his shirt off?"

"I think that's just him. It's a personality trait. But it's not one for you." Her pause is deliberate, and he can see her make up her mind before she adds, "Which sucks, because I'd rather see you shirtless any day."

"So what are you trying to get out of this conversation?" he asks. It seems like a valid question, at this point. "You want me to take off my shirt more or less? Or do you just want me to hook up with Roan?"

"I think Raven likes him too, so definitely not." She worries her lip. "Which is the big thing. If it was just me, I wouldn't say anything, but--"

His voice is a little raw when he manages, "Clarke."

"If it's not about me, it's cool, just keep doing it, I still benefit. But if it's about me--"

"Just, like, sixty percent," he says, and kisses her.

He doesn't even have the chance to be nervous about it before she's kissing back, smiling into it, her hand tangling in his hair, and he's grinning back, too wide to kiss her that competently.

"What's the other forty?" she asks, because if she didn't have awesome priorities, he wouldn't love her as much as he does.

"It's _weird_ ," he says. "Right? Shirts are important, Clarke. No one else takes theirs off."

"So you thought you should do it too."

"I never said it was a _good_ idea." But he kisses her, and her fingers thread in his hair, and she's kissing back, so-- "But I guess it kind of was."

"Or you could have just skipped the weird shirtless rivalry and kissed me--basically any time."

"Sorry, are you objecting to my shirtlessness? I thought you were into this."

She anchors her hands in the front of his shirt, tugging him closer, still smiling. "Obviously, yeah. But-- _everybody_ doesn't have to see you shirtless, right? Just me."

He grins. "But how else are they going to know I'm hotter than Roan?"

"You're the hottest," she assures him. "Don't worry."

"Yeah?"

She's kissing him again, and it's getting more insistent, and his life is amazing. "It's not even close."

The next time Roan takes his shirt off, it's less than a week later, and Bellamy's pretty sure Clarke just gets him to do it to bait him.

"Hey, Roan, who's the designer on your shirt?"

"Good question," he says, and immediately takes it off to check. 

Clarke raises her eyebrows at Bellamy, practically daring him to take his off too, and he thinks about it for about half a second.

"I bet you already know the designer of my shirt," he tells her, because that's just how Clarke _is_.

"You bought it from TeeFury four months ago. I sent you the link."

He looks down at himself, surprised, but it's definitely true. "You are the expert on my shirts," he says, and she grins.

"Yeah, I definitely am."


End file.
